Question

A nurse is teaching a class on torts. The nurse should include which of the following situations as an example of negligence?

A) A nurse identifies the absence of peripheral pulsation in a casted extremity in the early morning and reports it to the provider in the early afternoon.
B) A client who is competent refuses an antidepressant medication. The nurse dissolves the medication in food and administers it to her without her knowledge.
C) A client who is alert and oriented makes an informed decision to leave the hospital against medical advice. The nurse applies restraints to the client to prevent him from leaving.
D) A nurse finds a client who is on a low-sodium diet eating salted potato chips. The nurse tells the client that she will apply wrist restraints if he does not stop eating the potato chips.

Answer 1

A nurse should include as an example of negligence a situation where a client who is competent refuses medication, but the nurse administers it to them without their knowledge.

Step-by-step explanation:

The situation that the nurse should include as an example of negligence is option B) A client who is competent refuses an antidepressant medication. The nurse dissolves the medication in food and administers it to her without her knowledge.

This is an example of negligence because the nurse did not obtain the client's informed consent before administering the medication. Informed consent is a legal and ethical requirement in healthcare, and it means that the client has the right to be fully informed about their treatment options and to make decisions about their own care.

In this situation, the nurse violated the client's autonomy and acted without their consent, which is a clear example of negligence in healthcare.